An ancient American Indian saying goes, ‘Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children’. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children and our future generations.

Oil has been and will be for a great many years to come the single most largely consumed fuel source in the world. From power generation to domestic applications, oil derivatives have become imperative to mankind.

However, the increasing cost of the ‘black gold’ both environmentally as well as financially, has created a need for alternative sources.

While the price of electricity, petrol and gas has gone up by leaps and bounds around the world, Malaysians have been fortunate enough that subsidised fuel is made available to us. We are one of the few countries in the world that still enjoys this privilege.

But the subsidy comes at a heavy price. We are fast becoming known around the world as one of the fastest growing carbon emitters. This has had untold effects on our environment and our health.  

Oil reserves in Malaysia and around the world are fast depleting. If we don’t change our habits, our five billion barrels of oil which we pump at a rate of 700,000 barrels a day will run out in a few years’ time. Once it is burnt away, it is gone for ever.

Do we need to be educated about the dangers to our planet before we do something about it? Should we use more simply because it is cheap today?

Even though the prime minister has announced the National Green Technology Policy, the policy is dependant to a large extent on the removal of subsidies that will force a rethink on the way we are using energy today.

What Malaysia needs is a shift in environmental consciousness. For the individual to decide whether to drive or use public transport is just one component of the larger picture.

Before it is too late, let us change our lifestyle, from the cars we drive to the home appliances we use to the way we run our businesses. The faster we start thinking about cleaner and more efficient use of energy, the better.